Saturday, 6 June 2015

Your Facebook, Twitter And Blogs Are Going To Be Monitored For References To The Government

If you’re one of those people that gets a bit vocal about politics,
you’ll be interested to know that your Facebook, Twitter and personal blog are
about to begin being monitored for references to the Government.

Ministers announced
yesterday that the Government had awarded a contract to five companies who
will monitor what people tweet, post to Facebook or blog about the Government
and provide updates to Whitehall in real time.

Officials and ministers
will provide a list of keywords and topics to the companies so that they know
what to monitor.

‘We monitor digital, social and traditional media so we understand
what people are saying, identify their concerns and shape policies
accordingly,’ a Cabinet Office spokeswoman told the Independent.

‘Departments have always
monitored social media but this agreement means they can find the most
appropriate way of doing this at the best price, ensuring good value for money
for the taxpayer.’

While the Government has
at times monitored digital news for a number of years, this is the first time
that the Government has awarded a contract specifically for that purpose, and
the first time that its surveillance specifically includes social media.